Crowdsourcing in Legislative Policymaking Act

OMar of 10'23 TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session ) AUG -6 P2:11 SENATE RECEIVED BY S. No. 1039 Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada AN ACT ESTABLISHING A FRAMEWORK FOR CITIZENS PARTICIPATION IN LEGISLATIVE POLICYMAKING THROUGH THE USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS EXPLANATORY NOTE The 1987 Constitution guarantees the right of the people to participate in the government's decision-making process and governance as stipulated in Section 16, Article XIII which states that, "The right of the people and their organizations to effective and reasonable participation at all levels of social, political, and economic decision-making shall not be abridged. The State shall, by law, facilitate the establishment of adequate consultation mechanisms." Pieces of legislation that allow the public to participate in the legislative process were filed in the previous Congresses but, unfortunately, were not passed into law. During those years, the full breadth and capacity of information and communications technology (ICT) is still being explored and is not yet fully appreciated and utilized by the Congress. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Congress intensified its usage of ICT to perform its mandate despite the implemented safety protocols and restrictions in movement and gathering. Through this, administrative functions were continued, committee hearings and plenary sessions were conducted virtually. The virtual platform also allowed more

resource persons to participate because they do not have to travel all the way to Metro Manila to physically attend the hearings. At present, we continue to witness the evolution of ICT that enables us to reach and connect to more people from various parts of the world. This enormous capacity of ICT should be harnessed for the benefit of good governance and people participation. The term "crowdsourcing" is defined as "the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers" In the field of public sector, crowdsourcing is considered as a "meeting- in-the-middle of top-down and bottom-up efforts to solve problems".? The "Crowdsourcing in Legislative Policymaking Act" provides for mechanisms that will ensure the convenient, accessible, and meaningful participation of the public in the legislative process. It seeks to broaden the reach of the Congress in considering the inputs, suggestions, recommendations, and objections of the people on a particular legislative proposal. Also, the bill will provide for channels that will heip the lawmakers prioritize the issues and problems that needs to be address, solicit ways on how to solve them, and obtain feedback on the implemented solutions and policies. In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this measure is highly recommended. sort. 1 JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA ^ Crowdsourcing Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster 2 Explainer: What you need to know about crowdsourcing | Bloomberg Cities (ihu.edu)

19219 fire slam for stren TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) First Regular Session AUb -6 P2:12 SENATE RECEN EU BY S. No. 1039 Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada AN ACT ESTABLISHING A FRAMEWORK FOR CITIZENS PARTICIPATION IN LEGISLATIVE POLICYMAKING THROUGH THE USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Crowdsourcing in

2 Legislative Policymaking Act .

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is declared the policy of the State to

harness various channels, particularly the available information and communication 5 technology platforms, to provide its citizens in all locations, from all fields of 6 expertise the means to participate and contribute in the formulation of pieces of 7 legislation.

Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act:

(a) Crowdsourcing refers to the practice of engaging individuals or a group towards a common goal, often at innovation, problem solving or efficiency in the delivery of services. Powered by new technologies, social media and the development of worldwide web 2.0, the individuals or groups are able to contribute to the formulation, improvement, and creation of laws that are beneficial to the nation;

(b) Information and communications technology refers to the totality of electronic means to access, create, collect, store, process, receive, transmit, present and disseminate information; (c) Online refers to a location accessed, through a connection to or services by a central computer network or telecommunication systems, such as the internet, by citizens anywhere in the world as opposed to a physical location, or the condition of being connected to a network of computers or other devices; (d) Portal refers to the homepages of the Senate of the Philippines and the House of Representatives, including that of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) maintained by their respective Secretariats for purposes of this Act; (e) Web 2.0 or the Participative and Social Web refers to the second generation of the World Wide Web (www) characterized especially by the change from static web pages to user generated content, ease of use, interoperability for end users, and which encourages a participatory culture as typified by social media users.

Sec. 4. Crowdsourcing in the Senate and the House of Representatives. -

This Act allows the citizens and the public at large to participate in the legislative process through the internet or telecommunications platforms. The crowdsourcing process shall be as follows: (a) On First Reading - Upon the filing of a national measure, the Secretariats of the Senate and the House of Representatives shall post a copy of the measure in their respective websites and shall give the public fifteen (15) working days, except for bills certified as urgent by the President, to submit their comments upon referral of the measure on First Reading. The comments from the public shall be part of the inputs to the committee deliberations. A standing or special committee may incorporate the comments submitted by the public and issue a crowdsourcing feedback report online to inform the proponent of the action taken by the standing or special committee.

(b) On Second Reading - Upon the submission of a committee report by the concerned standing or special committee to the Committee on Rules, the public is given three (3) working days to submit its comments on the measure, except for bills certified as urgent by the President, before the Committee on Rules includes the report in the Calendar of Business. (c) On Third Reading - After the measure is approved on Third Reading, but before a Conference Committee is created, the public is given three (3) working days to submit its comments and the concerned committee shall review the same for consideration at the Conference Committee level. Only comments germane to the measure approved on Third Reading shall be considered.

Sec. 5. Crowdsourcing through the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office

(PLLO). - This Act allows all citizens and the public at large to participate in the legislative process through the legislative liaison system via the internet or telecommunication platforms. The homepage of the PLLO shall serve as the portal for the department legislative liaison system for crowdsourcing purposes. The PLLO website shall provide a platform through the internet where people can start a campaign or petition to review, amend and repeal a law or create a bill, the result of which may be transmitted to any member of both Houses for appropriate action. The PLLO shall also provide for a crowdsourcing feedback report online to inform the proponent of the action taken thereto.

Sec. 6. Procedure of Registration. - A citizen who would like a start a

campaign or petition to review, amend and repeal a law or create a bill, shall register online, consistent with the provisions of Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise known as the "Data Privacy Act of 2012" and other applicable laws.

Sec. 7. Monitoring and Evaluation. - There shall be a feedback mechanism to

guide the post-facto crowdsourcing exercise. This shall enable legislators to understand public sentiments for improved grounding of their legislative duties and to ensure that concerns raised by the public are acted upon by appropriate entities. The concerned committees shall provide the result of feedback consultations to a central secretariate of the Planning and Management Information Service of both

1 Houses of Congress and the Office of the President that will analyze the data for emergent issues and concerns.

Sec. 8. Sunset Review. - Six (6) years from its enactment, Congress shall

review and recommend amendments to this Act to attune it to the developments in 5 technology, and to determine if the same can be implemented in provinces and highly urbanized cities that have adopted telecommunications and information technology convergence.

Sec. 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within sixty (60) days from

the effectivity of this Act, the Secretariate of both Houses of Congress and the PLLO 10 shall, in coordination with the Department of Information and Communications 11 Technology (DICT), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and concerned civil society organizations (CSOs), promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

Sec. 10. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid

or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision or part not otherwise affected shall remain valid and subsisting.

Sec. 11. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance,

executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation 19 contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly.

Sec. 12. Effectivity, - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,